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I’ve got bad news … and worse. As I write this, the scoreboard reads: San Diego FSDO 21; Long Beach FSDO 20. (No, I’m not a fan of Long Beach and, no, Long Beach didn’t miss an extra point.)
Unfortunately, the score isn’t related to an intra-mural flag football game between the SAN and LGB Flight Standards District Office’s. It represents the number of airspace violations in the Presidential Temporary Flight Restrictions areas during George W. Bush’s visit to Southern California on August 21 & 22, 2003. That’s forty-one known violations, in just two days, of well-publicized temporary flight restrictions that were put in place because of the President’s visit. There were also reports that a number of general aviation aircraft had to be intercepted by combat aircraft and forced to land during those two days.
What could be worse? According to guidelines under which all FSDO’s must operate (as of this writing), every pilot in every one of those airplanes will be losing his or her flying privileges—and there will be no exceptions. It’s real simple: bust a TFR and you’re busted.
Why would forty-one informed, supposedly intelligent pilots do something as dumb as bust a TFR? Well, I guess it’s in the nature of the beast. Temporary Flight Restriction areas are, after all, temporary. So, let’s try to reach a better understanding of TFR’s—because, you see, there will be more and more TFR’s as we near a national election year.
So, what is a TFR anyway? Well, according to section 3-5-3 of the Aeronautical Information Manual, “The purpose for establishing a temporary flight restrictions area is to:
Protect persons and property in the air or on the surface from an existing or imminent hazard associated with an incident on the surface when the presence of low flying aircraft would magnify, alter, spread, or compound that hazard (14 CFR Section 91.137 (a)(1)).
Provide a safe environment for the operation of disaster relief aircraft (14 CFR Section 91.137(a)(2)).
Prevent an unsafe congestion of sightseeing aircraft above an incident or event which may generate a high degree of public interest (14 CFR Section 91.(a)(3)).
Protect declared national disasters for humanitarian reasons in the State of Hawaii (14 CFR Section 91.138).
Protect the President, Vice President, or other public figures (14 CFR Section 91.141).
Provide a safe environment for space agency operations (14 CFR Section 91.143).
Now, there are lots more references to the pertinent regulations of 14 CFR 91, lot of qualifiers, and plenty of additional information regarding how to establish TFR’s, but what most concerns us are the Presidential TFR’s.
With a peripatetic president, and with the upcoming elections in 2004, the impact of TFR’s on General Aviation and air commerce could be substantial. In addition, the regulation not only mentions the President and Vice President, but also “OTHER PUBLIC FIGURES”. That scares me. Who know whom the g’umint might choose to designate as an “OTHER PUBLIC FIGURE”? So, let’s take a closer look at the inner workings of presidential TFR’s.
According to an air traffic controller friend, there are two circles around the president when he travels. The first is a 30 nm radius circle that blankets the primary airport associated with his visit. In San Diego’s case, that was the Miramar Marine Corps Air Station, just north of the city. Any aircraft attempting to enter that 30 nm circle required an ATC clearance—either IFR or VFR. No one was allowed into the airspace unless that pilot had a discreet transponder code and was in contact with ATC, in our case SoCal TRACON.
So, if you planned on traveling to San Diego, you were obliged to file an IFR or VFR flight plan with a Flight Service Station prior to departing. In all cases, whether VFR or IFR, anyone operating within the 30 nm radius remained under constant radar surveillance, and there were no “radar services terminated,” cop-outs allowed. In addition, the FAA (or, perhaps, the Department of Homeland Security) refused to allow “pop-up” clearances. In other words, say you were ignorant and didn’t get a briefing from Flight Service before your planned trip to San Diego. If you were unaware of the TFR’s and called ATC to try to enter the airspace covered by the TFR, Air Traffic Control was not allowed to clear you. And, if you just barged into the airspace, you would be paid an intimidating visit by an armed interceptor which would have forced you to land at an airport—or, in case you were really stupid and ignored his maneuvering and requests, you would have been shot down.
Here’s one example. A Cessna 182 pilot on an IFR flight plan to Gillespie Field experienced a radio communications failure somewhere north of Miramar MCAS. Instead of continuing on to Gillespie, as everyone would have expected, he turned around. The controller working the airspace panicked and called in the interceptors. An F-16 dove from FL240 and locked onto the hapless 182, then proceeded to aggressively maneuver him towards his original destination. The pilot eventually was able to re-establish communications and land at Gillespie. I’m not certain how happy he’ll be when next he hears from the FAA.
Even greater restrictions were placed on the airspace within a 7 nm radius of the presidential person when he was on the ground. Within that 7 nm circle, the only aircraft allowed in the air were police, military and emergency operations (like Lifeguard flights), and only with prior approval. In addition, there were restrictions to aircraft allowed to land at the primary airport. Unless you were a scheduled airliner, or a scheduled air taxi operator, you were not allowed to land at Lindbergh. Period. If your airport lay within the 7 nm radius of the President, and it was not served by regularly scheduled airline or air taxi service and didn’t meet the criteria of 14 CFR 139, the airport was closed.
That’s what happened at Montgomery Field. The President landed, and then made a speech, at Miramar MCAS. Since Montgomery fell within its 7 nm radius, and since Montgomery doesn’t rate regularly scheduled airline or air taxi service, no one took off from or landed at Montgomery. Then, when the President moved near downtown, Montgomery Field fell within that 7 nm circle. So, Montgomery Field was closed until the Prez left town.
Even if you had managed to slip through the system and gotten a clearance to Lindbergh Field, the Lindbergh controllers were on order not to let anyone other than the scheduled carriers and scheduled air taxis land. If you had planned to arrive at Lindbergh after the Prez departed, as one bizjet had, and arrived early, you had nowhere to go. Lindbergh couldn’t take you because you weren’t regularly scheduled, and no one within the 30 nm radius could take you either, since you had planned your flight to Lindbergh. You were ordered to hold, or land at another airport, outside the 30 nm radius.
The coordinating, or, perhaps, information dispensing, agency in any temporary flight restriction is the Flight Service Station closest to the area affected. FSS briefers will be informed of restricted areas and will be able to explain, in detail, where you may or may not go. If after the briefing you’re still unclear of the boundaries of the TFR, ask for another explanation. Tell the briefer you’re not certain that you understood the exact dimensions of, or restrictions in, the affected area. It’s entirely your fault if you fly into a TFR—and even if you’d gotten an earlier briefing, if the TFR changes and you’re unaware, unfortunately, you’re the one who will suffer.
I had cause to contact an FSS briefer during the President’s visit and, it appeared to me, that the briefer had been very well briefed about the procedures. A good deal of the information contained in this article came directly from that briefing. So, the good news is you should be able to trust Flight Service if a terrible TFR lands in your home airspace.
Now, as to those forty-one poor, unfortunate souls we mentioned at the beginning (the ones who violated the TFR’s), their respective fates don’t look good. As I wrote earlier, the FAA has been given no wiggle room in dealing with them. They will be violated—their flying privileges suspended for a minimum of 60 days and, if the circumstances merit, longer.
The air traffic control system has been profoundly affected by the events of 9/11. Severe restrictions have been placed on any airspace the Department of Homeland Security determines that a terrorist might be likely to attack. At present, there are restrictions over open-air venues of more than 30,000 seats when an event is taking place. There is what seems to be a permanent, temporary flight restriction over Disneyland. The nation’s capitol, and the airports serving it, have been blanketed with TFR’s that might well cause the closure of some GA airports. It’s time for all pilots to pay attention—whether they’re on a local flight or a long cross country.
As the national election approaches, as the President, Vice President and the dreaded “other public officials”, hop-scotch around the country, we all need to start paying closer attention to TFR’s. Check with a Flight Service briefer before you make a trip into an affected area and, if you have the slightest doubt, alter your destination or route of flight around the TFR … or just don’t go. If you value your flying privileges, the consequences aren’t worth blundering into a TFR.
About the author:
Glenn Daly is the chief pilot of SoCal Skies in San Diego and is in love with flying and teaching others to fly
© 2003-2005 by Stephen Glenn Daly
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